Objective: To examine racial/ethnic differences in weight perception by sex among U.S. college students.
Participants: a national sample (N = 70,267) of college students selected from 2- and 4-year postsecondary institutions (N = 62) during the Fall semester from 2011 to 2014.
Methods: This is a secondary data analysis using 4 years of American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment IIb data. Sex-stratified multinomial logistic regression was performed to investigate racial/ethnic differences in body weight perception.
Results: Compared with non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic black men and women were more likely to underestimate their body weight (p < .01). Asian men and women were more likely to overestimate their body weight than non-Hispanic whites (p < .001).
Conclusions: Weight-related interventions should take into account racial/ethnic differences in body weight perception.
Keywords: Body weight perception; college students; obesity; weight overestimation.